SOURCE: “Part One: Text,” in Richard II: Text and Performance, Macmillan Education, 1987, pp. 13-47.

In the following essay, Page reviews the themes, structure, and plot of Richard II and comments on issues related to the staging and performance of the play.

1. Introduction

Richard II begins in the middle: no Chorus, as in Henry V; no explanatory talk among waiting Gentlemen. This could easily be Richard II, Part II, particularly if we know that Richard has already been king for 21 years when the play begins. Instead of any setting of scene and situation, the king is seen presiding while two nobles quarrel cryptically. We cannot tell who is right and who is wrong in the argument, who is lying or whether both are. Our inability to grasp the issues forces our attention on the king, on his way of dealing with troublesome subjects.

Does Shakespeare intend to puzzle spectators...